Still, there are attached dwellings aplenty under construction in Victoria and New South Wales.

And these are overwhelmingly located in Melbourne and Sydney.

Defaults begin

It could be an interesting year ahead for the apartment market.

With mainland Chinese investors reportedly now struggling to settle on apartments, it is a near certainty that apartment commencements will fall sharply, particularly in the three most populous capital cities.

While the slowdown in construction may be no bad thing for the unit market at face value, it's worth remembering that the construction industry employs well over 1 million Australians, so the impact on employment will likely be material.